Diehard Bose Head

[tomlinmgt]

The name of the thread is "Diehard Bose Head" .

Yeah, and if one is perceptive enough they can deduct the "diehard Bose head" appears to have somewhat limited exposure to other speaker designs but is interested in changing that and is asking for info in that regard. And he's been getting it from some very knowledgable AKers yet still some people feel compelled to be hyper critical of helpful responses and step in the way to champion something that needs no defense. Is it just me or is the skin getting thin around here?

- Michael

 

[zebra03]

Limited or not , the OP still likes Bose . And yes , he was looking for other options . He was not looking for Bose bashing . Like I said , either you get it or you don't . Just common decency .

 

[70'sAudio]

Okay, so how's everyone doing today ........I'm still looking for other members choice of speakers and why they like them.

~Mike

 

[Tom Brennan]

I don't think disagreement is necessarily thread crapping. And Joe isn't a thread crapping kind of guy, he's always polite and well spoken, gentlemanly.

 

[zebra03]

Okay, so how's everyone doing today ........I'm still looking for other members choice of speakers and why they like them.

~Mike

Are you looking for new or vintage ? If new , I would get to a dedicated audio store and go listen like crazy . I have always enjoyed Klipsch myself . Although , I enjoy my vintage Genesis 210's and my Pioneer HPM 150's which IMHO are both great speakers .

 

[SoCal Sam]

Okay, so how's everyone doing today ........I'm still looking for other members choice of speakers and why they like them.

~Mike

Bose love is unconditional. Shouldn't be. Glad you are expanding your horizon.

 

[70'sAudio]

I did find a used set of really nice looking Magnepan speakers I was wondering if they are worth checking out....reason I'm asking is they are about an hour and a half drive away.........how's the sound response on this type of speaker.

 

[mrjbq]

I like JBL, and all others suck

Seriously, for me, JBL gives the sound I like. It seems full, at times a little bright. But, I need that, as my high frequency hearing is a little lacking. For me, they are not fatiguing at all, unlike another brand previously mentioned here were for me.

I can listen all day to them.

Having said that, I also am really partial to my ADS L810s. They are a little softer sounding than my L112s. Again, not fatiguing at all to me.

So, for me when I want a more "in your face" sound, I play the JBLs.

If I want a little more "relaxed" sound, I tend to play the L810s.

It really depends on your music preference and your amplification.

I hope that helps you, OP.

 

[70'sAudio]

Are you looking for new or vintage ? If new , I would get to a dedicated audio store and go listen like crazy . I have always enjoyed Klipsch myself . Although , I enjoy my vintage Genesis 210's and my Pioneer HPM 150's which IMHO are both great speakers .

I would really like to stay with a vintage setup........growing up in the 70's Klipsch were liked by many sorry to say I've never had the pleasure of listening to a set of klipsch :sigh:

 

[70'sAudio]

It really depends on your music preference and your amplification.

Good point.....I love the vinyl.

SX-1280, PL-518 / Thorens TD-160

My music of choice would have to be from the 60's through early 80's rock~metal electric/acoustic~live/studio

Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, 10yrs After, Grand Funk, Who, Doors, Boston, CCR, Metallica, Mega Death, Rush, Stones, Greatfull Dead, SRV, Jethro Tull, Iron Maiden......just to name a very few :yes:

~Mike

 

[tomlinmgt]

I would really like to stay with a vintage setup........growing up in the 70's Klipsch were liked by many sorry to say I've never had the pleasure of listening to a set of klipsch :sigh:

Have you ever heard a design that incorporates horns? If not, you need to.

What is the Magnepan model you have the opportunity to hear? Before you get any further with Maggies, understand they have to be placed properly and given proper upstream electronics to get the unique and celebrated sound they are heralded for. That means at least three feet out from the front wall, at least six feet between them with the listening position at least that far away, and at least a few feet between them and the side walls. And vintage receivers will not properly power to a set of Maggies. You need high current wattage that is typically only found in separates, a better than average source and preamp as the design has a propensity to reveal flaws or deficiencies upstream. And an older set of Maggies, say anything more than ten or fifteen years, will probably need some repair work. It's not difficult, but it can be time consuming and a PITA for folks who aren't into that type of thing.

- Michael

 

[tomlinmgt]

Good point.....I love the vinyl.

SX-1280, PL-518 / Thorens TD-160

My music of choice would have to be from the 60's through early 80's rock~metal electric/acoustic~live/studio

Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, 10yrs After, Grand Funk, Who, Doors, Boston, CCR, Metallica, Mega Death, Rush, Stones, Greatfull Dead, SRV, Jethro Tull, Iron Maiden......just to name a very few :yes:

~Mike

Half of those bands will be glorious through a set of Maggies, the others (heavier stuff) not so much.....unless you mod them, give them killer upstream electronics (way out of silver faced receiver territory now) and supplement them with subwoofers. Something like Klipsh Fortes might be worth seeking out and listening to as they'll play all the music you listed quite nicely and aren't as finicky when it comes to upstream electronics. However, just like any other speaker they will have certain requirements to get the best out of them. Don't set them up in a highly reflective room, for example. And electronics that have a "bright" sonic character wouldn't be a good choice for them either.

 

[zebra03]

Maybe a pair of Pioneer HPM - 100 's . That might be a good starting point and they were a late 70's speaker with a good reputation ..

 

[zebra03]

Half of those bands will be glorious through a set of Maggies, the others (heavier stuff) not so much.....unless you mod them, give them killer upstream electronics (way out of silver faced receiver territory now) and supplement them with subwoofers. Something like Klipsh Fortes might be worth seeking out and listening to as they'll play all the music quite nicely and aren't as finicky when it comes to upstream electronics. However, just like any other speaker they will have certain requirements to get the best out of them. Don't set them up in a highly reflective room, for example. And electronics that have a "bright" sonic character wouldn't be a good choice for them either.

Forte is a good choice too .

 

[frommerstop]

Seems this is the appropriate time to post the old Bose/Klipsch joke;

So, Paul W. Klipsch (the creator of the Klipschorn and founder of Klipsch) was walking down the street one day, and he saw Dr. Amar Bose on the other side of the street. Paul stops, faces Amar, cups his hands around his mouth, and clearly yells, "Hello Amar!" Amar hears Pauls loud voice and stops. He immediately turns 180-degrees from Paul, puts his hands over his mouth, and mutters, "Hello Paul." Paul shrugs his shoulders and walks away.

As far as getting a pair of Magnepans is concerned, I think the world of them in general, and they are deservedly one of the best selling brands of high end audio. They will give you much of the "airy" sound quality you enjoy from your 901s, but they will not have a similarly wide listening area... panel speakers, in general, require you to sit in a relatively small "sweet spot" in order to hear them at anything near their best. Older (20+yrs old, or more) Magnepans can also have issues with de-lamination, which if repairable, but not as minor as a woofer surround, or typical box speaker restoration, so caution should be taken in choosing an old pair. They are usually worth the effort, and Magnepan fully supports them with parts for DIY, or factory service, but you need to be aware that they may need work, and keep it in mind when looking at prices.

Looking at your listening preferences, I'm not too sure Magnepans would be the best fit for you either. They, by their nature, are not typically favored by loud rock listeners. While they CAN play pretty loud, they tend to sound increasingly "congested" in the lower registers as volume goes up, and many models start to sound a bit harsh at top when pushed too far as well. If you want to use them for rock, I would plan on adding a sub, or two.

If you decide you really love the dipole/panel speaker idea, but your taste runs to loud metal, you might be better off with Acoustats. They're harder to drive, so you'll need a good amp, but they are probably the toughest panel speakers, and the larger ones can really rock out!

Actually, your music list brings the Ohm Walsh speakers back to my mind. I think they'd likely be a better fit for you. Used Walsh 2s are very reasonably priced on the used market, and had cloth surrounds, so most are very trouble free. Walsh 3s (non "XO" version) also had rubber surrounds, but all the other models had foam surrounds, and will likely need attention by now.

 

[frommerstop]

Sorry for the double post...
no idea why that happens to me sometime on this site.

 

[hugeroost]

Whatever floats your boat is...whatever floats your boat.

I would draw this analogy as a form of a question to you.

Let's presume you like both vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

If you put both into a bowl and eat one at a time, you have the full intensity of vanilla, followed by the full intensity of chocolate.

What instead, if you blend them? You have the same ingredients however, the intensity is perhaps muted and it's a more generic flavor without the delightful extremes.

As with Bose (or more explicitely, direct/reflective sound) you might get "blended but decent" sound everwhere but....you might not get 'excellent and intense' sound anywhere.

Contrast that with other types of speakers, you might get excellent and intense sound....but.... it might be only in a certain sweet spot in the room, forcing you to either sit in that spot to enjoy it or notice ups & downs in the sound quality (as you move about the room)

I don't know that I'm 100% right nor even 2% right....it's just my analogy as to the basic difference.

I've heard Bose speakers before and never really felt they sounded 'bad'. Heck, I can listen to a tin-can radio and still enjoy what I'm listening to because it's what I'm listening to that I'm paying attention to, not the items playing the sound.

Side note to you, I'm a big fan of (big) Klipsch speakers and feel they offer some of the most dynamic, realistic sound available.

coytee, totally agree, in college my roomate had a set of 901"s, 1984, and they would get so loud on ac/dc the campus police always knew where to come, luckily we were football players so they did nothing. But I always felt thats all they were, just loud, real loud. Of coarse i"m like you in my feelings for the heritage line, at 51 I can pretty much afford what I want and to me the heritage lineup is hard to beat, although maybe to pricey for some, but thats what cl is for. I"ll take a 15 year old set of chorus/heresy/scala/forte/cw any day over most new speaks.......Roost

 

[guitarlvr]

I did find a used set of really nice looking Magnepan speakers I was wondering if they are worth checking out....reason I'm asking is they are about an hour and a half drive away.........how's the sound response on this type of speaker.

I have a pair of MMG's The best money I have ever spent.
But you can get them new shipped to your door for around $630.00.

If you do not like them you can send them back or trade them up.

If you call them you can talk to a real person(Paula).

No I do not work for them. I'm just a guy who tried them and liked them.

They are very helpful and NICE. And the are made right here in the good ol US of A white bear lake Minasota. One of the best stereo experiece I have had in 40 years.

But back to your question of book shelf speakers. I have heard a pair of B&W's CM5GB they cost around $1500.00 for the pair they sounded great from what I heard at the store.

Def worth a listen.

I listen to all types of music with my Maggies in fact right now I'm listening to the scorpions. They work fine for me for all rock.

I do however run a sub with mine.

 

[JoeESP9]

I'm biased toward panel type speakers and I'll add another vote for Magneplanars. When seated in the sweet spot you hear a sound stage that's similar to that from Bose 901s with several major differences. The imaging can be almost pinpoint and the sound stage is marvelous in it's depth and width. The timbre and tonal balance is IMO better than most speakers "mere mortals" can afford. They IMO sound clearer cleaner and more real than most other speakers regardless of brand.

I don't think they are studio speakers by your definition. The truth is I'm not completely sure what you mean by "studio speakers".

Try a pair of MMGs. Return them if you don't like them. Bear in mind the MMGs are Magnepan's most inexpensive full range speaker. Their reason for existence is to get you hooked on the Magneplanar sound. That's why, if you decide to upgrade to a larger pair within a year the full purchase price will be applied to the upgrade.

The downsides have been well covered by frommerstop and others.

 

[jazzmans]

Maggies are sublime.
Expect to pair them with a sub.

Yesterday I was playing 'subhumans' by boc 'original studio rec' for a friend, and he was just blown away by the levels of complexity they 'the band' were capable of, especially the bass, and this was at rock and roll volumes.


Maggies 'can' rock out with a bit of effort. fwiw, I rarely listen to them in the 'sweet spot' and they are still great. you owe it to yourself to hear them.